It's Economics 101. Sell more widgets by lowering the price. In the case of electric cars, Ford is the latest car company to drop the price of its EV, but reducing the lease price of the Focus Electric by more than $10,000.

Cars like the Tesla Model S and Nissan LEAF are designed to keep their batteries discretely and unobtrusively tucked below passengers. But Ford plug-ins sacrifice storage space for electric range, creating an unattractive trade-off for already more expensive plug-in variants of existing models.

With an electric and two plug-in hybrids on the road by the end of the year, Ford has a major commitment to battery power. But numbers are small so far, and—of necessity—the company's strategy emphasizes patience.

There's good news for Ford Motor Company’s effort to promote a growing lineup of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. C.J. O’Donnell,
previously the marketing chief of the Lincoln brand, is now tasked with promoting Ford’s range of hybrids and electric vehicles. These include plug-in hybrids, such as the Ford C-Max Energi and upcoming Fusion Energi, along with dedicated EVs like the Focus Electric. Despite a highly anticipated launch, the Focus EV has been a particularly low seller since its limited release earlier this year.

Lithium ion batteries are truly fair weather friends – just like people, they fare best in a comfortable climate. Lately, we at Pike Research have been delving deep into how environmental factors, such as temperature, affect battery performance and the rates at which vehicles are charged or discharged. Our discussions with automotive companies and battery pack assembly companies have revealed numerous approaches for optimizing performance and extending a battery’s life – comparable to the many ways people dress to beat extreme heat.

I ran into a friend in Los Angeles this week who called Ford’s dealership in Santa Monica—a red hot hotspot for EV adoption—but couldn’t get any information from the dealership about buying a Ford Focus Electric, despite making it crystal clear that he was a customer with cash in hand and ready to buy. Maybe that's just one anecdote. Or is it a sign of trouble?

Ford's CEO Alan Mulally told reporters that selling fewer than 5,000 Focus Electrics by the end of 2012 should still be considered a success. Ford's near-term goal to double sales of electric-drive vehicles—including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and EVs—won't fall off track even if sales of the 2012 Ford Focus Electric are lower than anticipated.

Ford says that sales of its first electric car, the Ford Focus Electric, are "on track," despite reports that there have been only 10 sales since December. Perhaps this is not a surprising development, if you look at company statements about its EV intentions over the past couple of years. Remember last year when Ford Motor’s chairman Bill Ford expressed doubts that a ground-up electric vehicles would appeal to enough consumers. He worried that the company would need to put big incentives on a dedicated EV in order to “shove them out the door, somehow."

The 2012 Ford Focus Electric has been EPA-certified at 105 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) combined, 110 MPGe city and 99 MPGe on the highway. It's EPA-rated range is 76 miles, compared to 73 miles for the Nissan LEAF.